


Regret is a Choice that we Make (The Life of Gabriel Agreste)

by Alimator



Series: The Life of Gabriel Agreste [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Hugs, Kissing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-19
Updated: 2019-10-06
Packaged: 2020-10-21 18:03:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 9,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20697740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alimator/pseuds/Alimator
Summary: Gabriel has now lost Nathalie. The woman he loves.But Adrien and Emilie are his family.





	1. Chapter 1

When he saw her body crumple he didn’t hesitate for a second. He was there at her side, cradling her in his arms. Tears stung his eyes, threatening to spill. She was gone. She had been the price he had to pay. 

This is what Tiki had warned him about, which he had waved off without a second thought. She had swapped places with Emilie. 

His life, he thought, was like a game of chess. They say a queen for a queen is a very good trade. That wasn’t the case though. 

She looked beautiful asleep, peaceful, angelic. He couldn’t believe that he only noticed now how lovely she looked. The stoic expression she always wore was in such contrast to whom she actually was. Her soft skin, her sharp jawline, the one strand of red hair. He brushed it off her cheek.

He loved this woman. But though he was holding her in his arms she felt so far from reach. He had been stupid. He didn’t notice her. He thought back to some words she had said to him.

“You’re blind you know that Gabriel. You don’t see what’s right in front of you.”

She had been right. She was always right. Now she was gone. 

He thought about Emilie who was still in ‘The Garden’ waiting for him. What had happened when he had kissed her, he did not know. He still loved Emilie, but not as he loved Nathalie. Nathalie was different. She had gone to hell and back for him and had never wavered. She had loved him so much that she was willing to give up her happiness for his. 

Life just didn’t seem fair anymore. What did he want from it? No, he thought, he wanted Nathalie. He knew that that was certain. But first Adrien. 

He couldn’t make this decision for the boy. He had already gone through enough. He was sure the kind soul that was his son would hate to choose between either women, but he would have to. But then he would also have to explain. There was no way he could evade telling him that he was Hawkmoth. Maybe… 

He would wait for a few days, he told himself, let everything settle down, then see how Emilie settled in, ask Adrien and then work with his answer. Yes. This could work. 

He only hoped Adrien could forgive him.  
^^^^^^^^^^  
A Week Later

“Adrien.” Emilie stood beside him clinging on to his arm. She seemed nervous to meet her son after two years.  
“Yes Father,” Adrien sounded droopy, most likely disappointed about his kwami. He poked his head through the large floor-to-ceiling doors that were the entrance to the living room. His eyes immediately widened at the sight of his mother. Emilie rushed to her son. It would have made a good montage, the sight of both of them running forward to greet each other. Adrien rushed into his mother's arms and they fell to the ground sobbing.

He watched this moment with a twinge of sadness in his heart. Adrien looked so overjoyed to have his mother back, how could he possibly even think to take that away from him?

Emilie pulled away from Adrien and started assessing him from head to toe.

“You’ve grown so much! How old are you now? You look a good 16!” Adrien laughed and gave his mother a warm smile.

“You overshot it a bit Mother! I’m 15,” he giggled. 

Gabriel hadn’t seen his son this happy since the last time Emilie was present in the house, but to be honest Gabriel hadn’t really been around much for Adrien after she had left. He only realised now how horrible he was towards Adrien, how much he neglected him.

“Well, I think you look like a strapping young lad!” she put on the ‘Gabriel’ voice she used to do for Adrien when he was small. Adrien laughed and looked up at his father who was still deep in thought. 

“Father? Are you okay?” 

Emilie now turned to look at Gabriel too.

“Uh, I, I’m fine,” he smiled. Adrien smiled back, but Emilie looked concerned. She couldn’t know about his feelings for Nathalie, not yet, “I’m just glad that your mother is back,” he fell back into one of the plush seats that were scattered artistically around the room. 

“Oh yeah,” Adrien turned back to Emilie, “Back from where exactly?”

Shit.

Together they had decided it was best to stay off that topic until absolutely necessary. Emilie looked towards him for assistance. Emilie remembered everything that had happened before she went into the coma. She remembered the miraculous and how the peacock was damaged, so they decided, for Adrien’s sake, that they would create a little white lie, as to keep him from discovering his parent's heroic endeavours. It was mostly the truth, just evading all of the miraculous parts.

“Well-” Emilie started.

“Your mother went into a coma. The doctors were never sure why or if your mother would survive. It didn’t look likely. Nathalie and I agreed that it was best to tell the media and yourself that your mother was gone. We didn’t want to give you hope when there was none,” Adrien looked hurt by this. Emilie tried to comfort him.

“We know that this is upsetting, but what your father did was the right thing to do, for all of us. I wouldn’t want you to hang onto empty promises Adrien. I wouldn’t want you sitting beside me every day, sad and gloomy. No, I want you to live a full life. But, now I’m back,” her words brought a smile to Adrien’s face and he hugged Emilie who wrapped her arms around him. 

“Thank you, Mother,”

“Well, I’m famished! What's for dinner Gabe?”


	2. Chapter 2

Gabriel entered his bedroom. It was white, no surprises there. The room didn’t really have any personality to it. It was as though it had come fresh out of a magazine. Ready to sell. At one end of the room on an elevated platform, there was a section with shelves of books and a desk was positioned in the middle of the platform. The king-sized bed sat in the centre of the room and Gabriel still had plenty more space. He had a complete work station where a sowing machine sat with mannequins and all. If he didn’t feel like leaving his room he could quite comfortably just work from his room, but it had never come to that. Nothing, not a single pillow was out of place… usually. 

Emilie had flopped on the bed and upon landing completely messed it up. She had fallen asleep curled in the silk sheets, one hand dangling off the side of the bed and her body lying almost horizontally across the width of the bed. Slowly, being careful to keep quiet, Gabriel walked to the bed. He stood over her for a while, lost in his own thoughts. There was nothing wrong with Emilie. It wasn’t fair to her. It wasn’t fair to anyone. 

She looked cute, he admitted. Cute. To other men beautiful, maybe. To him she was cute, Nathalie was beautiful. He thought about Nathalie’s soft hair, her ocean blue eyes; he could drown in them. He frowned, feeling guilty about his thoughts. 

Sitting down on the bed he looked towards his wife who was sleeping like a log. Her long blonde hair masked much of her face, the rest spread out like a fan on the bed. He moved to brush the hair away from her face when she kicked him, hard, in the thigh. 

“Umph,” Gabriel tried to muffle his pain, but he might as well have screamed, she stayed sound asleep. 

Carefully he moved her legs out of the way and positioned her properly. Finally sliding in next to her he allowed himself a moment to rest his eyes. 

“Father?” 

The older Agreste’s eyes shot open. 

“Adrien?” he sat up.

“Father,” Adrien looked embarrassed, “Um, I was wondering, I guess, you know-”

“Stop babbling Adrien. I taught you better. Say what you want to say!”

“Right. Well, I was wondering, if it was okay with you of course,” Gabriel rolled his eyes, “if I could maybe, um, sleep with you guys tonight?” 

He quirked an eyebrow at his son.

“Why?” 

Adrien deflated. The hopeful expression on his face was engulfed in one of disappointment.

“That’s okay. I was being stupid. I don’t-”

“Shut up Adrien,” Gabriel patted the space in between Emilie and himself. He would need the company tonight. He couldn’t be left to his thoughts. 

Adrien’s flame was alight once again. He clambered into bed, kicking Gabriel’s shin in the process. He frowned at his son only to receive a sheepish grin in response. Adrien chose to snuggle up to his mother with his back to Gabriel. A small smile tugged on Gabriel’s face before he wrapped his arms around the two of them and fell asleep.  
^^^^^^^^^^  
They sat at the long oak dining table. Gabriel was engrossed in a newspaper while Adrien was tapping away at his phone.

Hey Bugaboo!

Good Morning kitty

Slept well?

Very well thx  
U?

Very!

Emilie was looking between the two of them. 

Adrien.

Gabriel.

Breakfast.

She made a humphing sound trying to get their attention but only got an eyebrow raise from Gabriel over his newspaper. She looked over at Adrien, indicating that Gabriel should do something about his son's behaviour, but Gabriel just shrugged and went back to reading about Ladybug and Chat Noir’s defeat. The press was quite surprised that the people of Paris hadn’t made into slaves for the infamous Hawkmoth. Gabriel smirked at a paragraph he read.

“Hawkmoth is probably waiting for the perfect moment to strike! For all we know tomorrow we’ll wake up and he’d have turned us all into chickens!” said a man that we talked to about the problem. He seemed quite distressed about Hawkmoth’s inactivity. This is in stark contrast to many other Parisians who are grateful to him. Some, in fact, are so appreciative that they have started worshipping butterflies and Hawkmoth.

“Gabriel!” Emilie said with a warning tone to her voice. 

“Adrien,” Gabriel sighed.

“Yes, father?” Adrien replied glancing up from his phone. 

“Please leave your phone, Adrien. Your father may have not enforced the rules while I was away, but I will not tolerate this ignorance in my house,” she paused, “from either of you.”

At this both Agreste men looked straight at the woman, surprised.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know Nathalie is not in the fic as much as some of you guys would like, but I guess that's all up to Gabe.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What if she left him?

Emilie had settled in quite well and life was slowly returning to normal. As expected, at first Emilie was very protective of Adrien. She would want to spend as much time with him as possible and would mollycoddle him. From what Gabriel had observed, Adrien was gradually getting sick off it. He would inwardly cringe when he saw Emilie treat Adrien like a baby; though he wouldn’t say anything about it, he didn’t want to spoil Emilie’s mood. 

Besides the obvious difficulties with introducing a ‘dead’ person back into the world, especially a famous ‘dead’ person, everything was running rather smoothly. Gabriel had gotten used to Emilie’s presence in the house, so had all the staff. They hadn’t questioned the sudden reappearance of Emilie, but gossip had got them by he presumed. 

The only thing that bugged him was the ‘wife and husband’ thing that was going on. The press had a field day when they found out about Emilie.

“Are you and Mrs. Agreste still married?”

“Was Mrs. Agreste in an affair?”

“Has Adrien been able to cope with the divorce?”

“Are you with Ms. Sancouer?”

Were some of the few questions that had been thrown at them. However, the press wasn’t making him uncomfortable as Emilie was. The pecks on his cheek, the hugs, the ‘I love you’ s, those were the things that were really getting to him. Because every time she would kiss him he knew that he could never kiss her back with the same love she had for him. Every time he said ‘I love you’ to her, he never really meant it. It made him sick. Sick to the core with guilt. 

He could never love this woman that loved him back. The problem was, for Emilie, he was still the Gabriel she knew and loved from two years back; for Gabriel, though she was the same, he wasn’t. He could never be the man she loved because he didn’t love her.  
^^^^^^^^^^  
Gabriel passed Adrien’s room and heard the soft tinkling of the piano from the inside. Then like a bird taking flight, the sound of the violin wafted his way. A smile played across his face as he leaned in closer. They were playing a piano and violin duet of Danza Espanola, Emilie on the violin and Adrien on the Piano.

As Gabriel entered the room they finished the song, Adrien letting the chord ring. He turned and grinned at his father; a smile saying ‘Are you proud of me?’. Gabriel most definitely was. He was always proud of Adrien, even though he didn’t tell him.

“Monsieur Agreste,” Emilie teased him, “would you like to grace us with your piano skills?” 

Adrien smirked and with a flurry of fingers started to play Zapateado. Starting loudly and towards the end of the piano solo dying out, before Emilie came in with a quick flourish of her bow. Soon the sound of the two of them in harmony with each other filled the room. Piano and Violin. Mother and son. 

Gabriel smiled as Adrien’s hand slipped and pressed the wrong key, but the boy quickly reclaimed his spotlight and continued playing.

Taking up on Emilie’s invitation, Gabriel sat down next to Adrien and started to play. Adrien quickly got the idea and skillfully switched to the high notes as the Primo and Gabriel taking Secondo. It had been a while since they had played together. He liked it.  
^^^^^^^^^  
Sleeping with her that night hadn’t been that bad, then he had scolded himself for liking it and it went downhill from there. 

He slipped out of bed, but Emilie, who he thought was asleep, had obviously heard him.

“Gabriel?” she said groggily. Gabriel winced.

“I’m sorry, I just need some fresh air,” Emilie sat up straight, concern etched on her face.

“Are you okay? Are you feeling sick?” 

Gabriel clenched his jaw. The truth was he couldn’t stand being next to her for a moment longer. The shame he felt was too much, as though he was just leading her on. 

“No, no. I’m… fine,” Emilie didn’t look convinced, “I’m fine,” he pressed. Emilie frowned at her husbands odd behaviour. Sighing he got up and headed towards the door.

“Am I doing something wrong?” 

Gabriel stopped in his tracks. Now he was making his wife feel guilty.

“No!” it came out a bit too forcefully and made Emilie all the more concerned, “You haven’t done anything wrong. Don’t worry darling,” he tried to smile. It was dark, she probably couldn't see it anyway, “I just think I’ll feel better if I take a bit of a walk around the house.”

“Gabriel,” her tone was serious, Gabriel wished it wasn’t, “I’m your wife. Please, if something's wrong tell me.”

If he did what would happen? She would hate him and worse, feel betrayed. She would be heartbroken and she might leave. Though he didn’t love Emilie like he did Nathalie he wasn’t sure what he’d do if she left. He’d be alone. What if she took Adrien with her, left and never came back. What would he do?

“There's nothing wrong, I promise you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, Gabriel you're stuffed.
> 
> Danza Espanola and Zapateado are really nice piano and violin duets and I got so into them that I just listened to classical while I was writing this fic. If you're into that type of music I recommend listening to them!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sigh. Drama.

“Hey father, um...”

Adrien looked nervously between his mother and father. Both were acting rather weirdly this morning. His mother was constantly drifting off into space, if not frowning at his father. His father was trying to ignore the looks his wife was giving him, but at the same time acting rather agitated.

“Not that I haven’t noticed,” 

Great, he was waffling again.

“But, um, where’s Nathalie?”

His father snapped his head in his direction, startled by the question. Adrien could see the cogs turning inside of his fathers head.

Gabriel hadn’t a clue how to answer his son. He would have to tell him the truth and talk to him about her, but not in front of Emilie. He quickly came up with a story in his head and spilt it to his son.

“Nathalie is on a much-needed vacation Adrien,” his son nodded in agreement, but Emilie looked suspicious, “She will be away for a while.”

“And when is she expected to come back, father?”

Shit. She might never come back. What would he do then?

“Adrien, when was the last time Nathalie took a break?” 

“Good point father,” 

Just when he thought the conversation was over and he was about to breathe a sigh of relief Emilie butted in.

“Yes, but when is she coming back, Gabriel?”

Damn Emilie.

“Uh, well, I didn’t really tell her when. I just kind of let her take the time off. She deserves it,” he shrugged.

“Right,” said Emilie, “and how do you expect to get work done without her?”

Now Emilie was acting like a fly that he really wanted to swat.

“I am perfectly capable of completing my work as well as hers.”

His tone was harsh and received a harsher reaction.

“Really Gabriel, because it didn’t seem like you were capable of taking care of your own son.”

He flinched. Emilie smirked slightly, she had hit a nerve. Adrien sat and watched this clash with an open mouth and wide eyes.

“I have been taking care of Adrien for the past two years!”

“Ha! You mean Nathalie has been taking care of Adrien! You,” she jabbed her finger at him from across the table, “have done nothing. You are a pathetic excuse for a father!”

“I beg your pardon? Everything I do is for Adrien!”

Adrien felt tears sting his eyes and threaten to spill. He blinked them away before his parents noticed. Not that they were paying him any attention anyway.

“I don’t think you realised Gabriel, but your son clearly hates you.”

“No, I don’t!” Adrien protested, but his mother continued.

“I heard from his friends that you never let him leave the house let alone allow anyone in! And you locked yourself up in that office of yours and fraternized with Nathalie.”

“Fraternized?” Gabriel got up so quickly the chair nearly fell to the ground, “Fraternized? She is my assistant!”

“Well, it seems that your relationship was platonic.” 

“Yes,” Gabriel admitted, “we are friends. What are you implying?” 

“Nothing,” she said a-matter-of-factly, “I’m just saying you spent more time with your assistant than you did with your own son.”

This time Adrien turned towards his father. His eyes showed disbelief, but Gabriel could tell that he felt betrayed.

“Son, that’s not true, nothing went on between Nathalie and me,” Adrien still looked disappointed, “Adrien, I would never do something like that.”

“How can he even trust you?”

This was getting too much, Gabriel told himself.

“What are you trying to do? What do you want Emilie, what is your point?”

“You love Nathalie Sancoeur.”

Gabriel gave in. 

“Yes, yes I do.”

Adrien looked baffled. 

“Father?”

Gabriel held his hand up for his son to stop.

“Please excuse me.”  
^^^^^^^^^^  
He walked slowly, taking in the perfectly manicured plants that surrounded him. The echo of his footfalls disturbed the silence of the room but masked the thudding sound of his heart in his ears. He approached the coffin and peered inside. Tears rushed down his face, he didn’t bother to stop them.

“I will get you back,” he said to her, “I’m just not sure how.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, Emilie found out and is a bit annoyed with Gabe! I don't know how he always manages to get himself in these kinds of situations!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bit of Gabe and Adrien!

Adrien knocked on his father's office door. He needed to talk to him after the event at the breakfast table that day, but he was nowhere to be found. He had told himself to let his father take some time alone, but he couldn’t wipe the distraught face his father had from his memory. 

“Father?” Nothing. Adrien leaned in closer to the door, wondering where on earth his father was and what he was up to. The sound of painful sobbing escaped from the room, “Father?” 

Adrien pushed open the door now clearly worried. Looking around the whitewashed room he spotted his father at his desk. Tears rolled freely down his face, his eyes were bloodshot and the tears penetrated his normal calm and stoic demeanour to reveal the cracks that he had been hiding for too long. Immediately when Gabriel saw Adrien staring at him he tried to rub away his tears, trying to swallow the lump that had formed in his throat and return to his normal breathing. 

“Adrien,” his passive expression returning to his face, but his voice still was shaky. 

“Are you okay?” 

Gabriel considered this question for a long moment. He really wasn’t was he? He was breaking. The strong brick wall he had built around himself was slowly crumbling, the mortar cracking and the bricks tumbling to the ground. 

“No,” he replied honestly. 

Adrien slowly walked towards his father. It was unlike him to act like this, be so open towards him. Adrien had never seen his father cry, in some ways, it was scary, as though the pillar he would always rely on to keep him up was collapsing beneath his feet.

Adrien loved his father so much. Their disputes had been many but had enforced their father-son relationship for times like now. Though his father hadn’t really paid much attention to him during the last two years his father still knew him better than anyone. 

They had had a good relationship before his mother disappeared and Adrien had been heartbroken when they had lost that. He had hoped that now, with his mother back, he would be able to get along better with his father and maybe his father would strive to do the same. 

Now as Adrien walked towards his father he realised that his father wasn’t the strong man he had seen him as. He looked like a man who was as fragile as a piece of china. Like a man who had been broken many times and been hastily glued back together. 

He knew his father had been grieving for his mother, but he would always put on a strong face for him. He now realised that his father didn’t want him to go through the same pain and would pretend that everything was okay. His father was two-faced, acting strong, but in private failing to keep himself up.

Adrien wrapped his arms around his father, startling Gabriel, but Adrien just hugged harder despite his father's hesitation. Soon Gabriel returned the hug. He felt relieved, for once in his life. He had just dropped all of the weight on his shoulders to the ground. 

“I love you, Adrien,” Gabriel said into Adrien’s hair letting his tears flow once more.

“I love you too, Father,” Adrien said, hugging his father tighter. 

Adrien pulled away, still in his father's arms and smiled. Gabriel noticed how much he had missed his son’s smile. He Hadn’t seen Adrien smile in much too long. 

“Nathalie?” his son questioned simply. Gabriel nodded. 

“I need to talk to you about that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Gabe and Adrien moments as much as I love a good GabNath moment, so I decided to push aside their differences and give you this lovely chapter! Hopefully, your thirst has been quenched.


	6. Chapter 6

“It’s true?”

His father nodded his head solemnly in response.

“But…” Adrien’s voice became soft, innocent, like a five-year-old asking why their pet died, “what about mum?”

Adrien hadn’t called his mother mum since he was four. They had then taught him how to say ‘mother’ and ‘father’ instead, because, of course, raising a famous child meant every move they made would be scrutinized by the media and manners had to be impeccable. Gabriel sighed.

“There is nothing wrong with your mother Adrien. I love her too… but not in the way a husband and wife should love each other. You know?”

Adrien looked deep into the eye of Gabriel who was still holding him tightly. His father meant the words he said and if Gabriel Agreste could be any more serious than he already was, that was the moment. Adrien thought about Marinette and how before he knew about her identity he was oblivious to her. He had to admit, he had had a small crush on Marinette, but only just more than friendship, it had been Ladybug that he had eyes for. Adrien, though, was lucky. It turned out that Marinette was the girl of his dreams in the first place and both of them had been running around in circles after each other. He completely understood his father's dilemma and how it related so much to his own, but of course, his father’s problem was a bit more complicated. Nathalie was a completely separate person from his mother, that was obvious, but his father was married to Emilie.

“Yes,” Adrien nodded. His father looked slightly surprised at his curt, straightforward answer, but didn’t question further.

“I only like your mother as a friend Adrien. Nothing more, nothing less. Your mother is an amazing woman and I really was in love with her before the… incident, but,” his father paused, trying to lay out his words before him, “something happened. I really don’t know what it was, but I,” Gabriel was struggling to form the words that he was about to say, “I just don’t love her any more.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I really couldn't decide whether I wanted Gabriel to reveal that he is Hawkmoth to Adrien or come up with a cover story, so I thought I'd leave it up to you guys! Tell me where you want the story to go, identity revealed or kept covered and why and depending on the majority I'll write! 
> 
> I'll leave it for two days so that you guys can get your comments in! Can't wait to see what you guys think!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, the votes are in! Let's find out the outcome...

Adrien clenched his jaw and tried not to make eye contact with his father. 

“So, you love Nathalie and not mother.” 

It wasn’t a question. It was a plain fact. Adrien was aware that he couldn’t change his father's mind, he could never, but it still hurt all the same. He loved his mother and, as most people do, wished she would come back, wished she had never died in the first place, but what could he do? Nothing. His mother was clearly gone, so he moved on. His father had done the opposite and had mourned his mother for many years. Now she was back. It was all he ever wanted. His mother was alive and now his father wanted to take that from him.

“Yes,” Gabriel replied curtly. 

“So, you are going to… what? Divorce mother and marry Nathalie? You’re just going to leave her?” Adrien got up from his father’s lap. 

“It’s not that simple,” Gabriel said bluntly. He was never really good with words. He preferred to express himself in the fabric that he stitched into clothes. In a way, it was like telling a story. Each fold of the fabric told a twist in the tale, the texture of the cloth told the daringness of the plot. To a trained eye, the dress expressed his emotions. If he was mad at the time of designing it the dress would have flare and texture; if he was feeling happy that emotion would be expressed in the colour of the dress. His life revolved around his work, so he made his work his life. 

He frowned at his son who was obviously distressed. Then something within him snapped. 

You’re just going to leave her?

“Look, Adrien. What I’m about to tell you will be hard for you,” Now it was Adrien’s turn to frown at his father, “but promise me you won’t hate me for it, that you’ll let me explain. Oh and for the love of god please, don’t kill me.”

His father was going insane, he was sure of it.

Gabriel bit his bottom lip and took a shaky breath. What if Adrien did kill him? What if he ran away? What if he told the world who he really was? He was being absurd he told himself. Adrien was the most amazing son he could ever ask for, he would never do anything like that.

“Your Mother and I were honeymooning in Tibet,” Adrien failed to see how this had anything to do with killing his father, “We were with a small tour group exploring the ruins of a Monk Temple that had been destroyed by a fire. Your Mother quickly grew bored at looking at pieces of charred wood and started to wander. I, naturally, followed in pursuit. When I had finally caught up to her I saw she had found two brooches that had been buried in the snow. One, shaped like a fan of peacock feathers was slightly cracked, the other, a purple one shaped like a butterfly had stayed intact.” 

Adrien still had no clue about what his father was getting to. Adrien, unlike Marinette, had not been in contact with Master Fu and, of course, didn’t know about the two missing miraculous.

“Your Mother took a liking to the blue peacock brooch and gave me the butterfly one. We had no clue that these two pieces of jewellery were miraculous,” Adrien’s eyes widened, “We used them of course, mostly for our personal benefit, such as getting places without needing to wait in traffic or getting away from paparazzi, but once and a while when we spotted trouble we would come in and lend a helping hand.”

“You owned a miraculous too!”

Gabriel smiled sadly and nodded his head, “The peacock miraculous was damaged and your Mother’s health quickly deteriorated. One day she just collapsed,” it felt as though someone had taken hold of his heart and squeezed, “You were in the middle of all this mess and I could never bear to watch you mourn for her, so I locked myself away. With that book, you stole from me,” Adrien sheepishly smiled and once again turned away, “I learnt that to save your mother, to make you happy again, I needed the miraculous of the cat and miraculous of the ladybug,” as soon as he said the sentence everything fell into place.

“You’re Hawkmoth!” 

“I did it for you, Adrien.”

Adrien felt his anger boil up inside of him. It was the same hatred he had felt when he had killed Simon Says, but this time he took his rage by the reins and drove it steadily forward.

“DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE YOU KILLED?”

It had been leaked to the media that Chat Noir and Ladybug had massacred hundreds of people, with the help of two high school kids. Soon though everyone realised who the real perpetrator was and the blame had been passed unto Hawkmoth. It had been scheduled for Chat and Ladybug to attend the funeral of the victims of the Pharoah, but everyone agreed that their civilian self would attend instead as there was no miraculous in sight. People had seen their detransformations and their identities had long ago been spread throughout Paris.

“Adrien Agreste! Don’t speak to me like-”

“NO, DON’T EVER CALL ME BY THAT NAME AGAIN! I WILL NEVER BE AN AGRESTE! NEVER!” Now his anger was starting to buck. Tears stung his eyes but he wiped them away. 

He ran. He ran from the room. He ran from his father. He ran from his stupid life. Gabriel ran after him. 

Adrien was almost at the door when he heard his fathers voice from behind him.

“Adrien think about Nathalie!”

He stopped and turned to face Gabriel, “So you can do what? You’re just going to trade her for Mother!”

It hurt to think that his son didn’t care for the woman he loved after all they had been through together, “So you don’t care for her?”

“What! No! Don’t you dare put this on me. Don’t you dare!” Adrien was outraged. Tears were flowing freely from his eyes, “This is all your fault and you know what? Nathalie doesn’t deserve an idiot like you anyway. She’s better off dead!” He regretted the words as soon as they came out of his mouth. Gabriel was taken aback. Both men were speechless. 

Then Gabriel did something that surprised them both. He leaned down and wrapped his arms around his son in a hug. It was most likely their last, but Adrien still hugged back. His tears soaked through his father's beige suit jacket. 

Gabriel slowly pulled away and looked Adrien straight in the eyes.

“I love you. No matter what you think of me, I will always love you. If you never want to see me again I understand, but all of this was for you Adrien, it was always for you. I wanted you to help me, but now I know that it wasn’t right of me to ask. You are a great son Adrien. I love you,”

“I’ll think about it,” he said bravely standing a little taller. Then he walked out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that was some heart-wrenching shit. I hope you enjoyed.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I’m not sure how long, but I just need to spend some time…” away from my father, were the unspoken words.

Tom and Sabine had found him, once again, standing at their front door. Their abiding kindness greeted him and ushered him into their humble home without the need for any explanation. 

“Adrien! How are you?” Sabine chirped.

They had placed him upon a corpulent sofa and began bombarding him with the most delicious pastries he had ever seen. Aromas hit him one after one, each blow as welcome as the last. Greedily he succumbed to their mollycoddling and started shovelling various baked goods into his mouth one after another. 

He was in the middle of a pain au chocolat when Marinette came down from her room. The pastry was hanging from his mouth, but he managed to mumble out something close to a hello. Marinette blushed and moved to sit down next to him. 

Much to the delight of Marinette’s two shippers of parents, Adrien put his arm around Marinette and pulled her closer. She lay her head on his shoulder and gave her parents a disapproving look. They only giggled and imitated the young couple's position themselves. 

They sat like that for a long time, talking happily about small things and coincidently avoiding the topic of Gabriel and Hawkmoth all together. Adrien politely asked if he could stay with them for a while.

“I’m not sure how long, but I just need to spend some time…” away from my father, were the unspoken words, but Sabine and Tom understood immediately and agreed.

“Of course Adrien, we’d love to have you stay with us for a while.”

“It’s not too much trouble?”

Sabine waved the question away, “Of course not! Don’t be silly!”

Adrien grinned at their benevolence towards him. They were so kind, friendly and selfless. No wasn’t a word in their dictionary; they always seemed to be going out of their way for others. 

“Thank you!”

“I’m afraid the sofa,” Tom gestured towards the plush couch they were sitting on, “is distinguishably uncomfortable in contrast to the beds you are used to.”  
“Nonsense, I think I’ll find it's much more comfortable than the bed I’m used to. It has a family.”

Sabine and Tom looked at each other, then towards Adrien, concerned about his last statement. They both knew it was a very real prospect but despite the ambiguity of his comment they nodded and the conversation moved on to something lighter.  
^^^^^^^^^^  
“What do you mean he has left?” 

Emilie was furious after he had told her about Adrien leaving for awhile. Gabriel sat at his desk massaging his temples and rubbing his hand over his face in frustration. 

“Darling-”

“Don’t call me darling!” she pointed an accusatory finger at him. At this moment she had the same energy Adrien had when Gabriel had called him an Agreste.

He sighed, “Emilie, I told him about Hawkmoth and he had an outburst,” he said it as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Excuse me? When did we agree on telling him about Hawkmoth? That was supposed to be kept secret for as long as possible.”

“I know-”

“Well it doesn’t seem as though you know!” she butted in.

“Yes, but it’s wrong to keep him in the dark for that long, we would have had to tell him sooner or later.”

“Yes,” she mocked him, “but you never told me that ‘sooner or later’ was now!” 

“What he needs now is some space. We can’t go after him or he’ll never come back.” 

“This is because of Nathalie, isn’t it?”

That caught him off guard.

“I-what? No!”

“Yes, Gabriel, it is. Because you’ve fallen hopelessly for that woman you decided to tell him about ‘The Great Wish’ and now I am reaping the consequences.”

“No, I didn’t tell him about the great wish,” he sighed.

“Then, what did you tell him about?”

Morosely he said, “I told him about my feelings for you and Nathalie,” Emilie shook her head, as though he was a preschooler who had just answered 1+1 incorrectly.

“You stupid, stupid man.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you go. I wanted to bring Marinette into the picture a bit more, so Adrien will be with them for a bit... I think.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone used to call him Gabbie!

Soon the news of his parent's divorce had spread across the city. Headlines like, ‘Aggressive Agreste Breakup’ and ‘Reunited Couple Can’t Cope’ were flashing across the news. 

The first Adrien had heard about it was from his father himself. Before then Gabriel hadn’t contacted Adrien at all, leaving him to his own devices. It seemed that his father knew when to keep his distance, which Adrien was grateful for. Gabriel had sent him a short message and left it at that.

‘Hi Adrien,  
I am afraid to say that there have been some complications between your mother and I and we have come to the conclusion that we aren’t right for one another. We plan to divorce, but of course, we are asking for your permission, as your happiness is our main concern.

Your loving Father,  
Gabriel’

It had been the most formal, plasticy message he had ever seen, but his father was really trying hard at this ‘fatherly love’ thing, so what could he say? 

Adrien had replied with: 

‘Yeah, I guess.’

Not the most elaborate reply, rather dry really, but Adrien really couldn’t be bothered anymore.

His life was falling apart, but what the hell could he do about it? Marinette was the only thing he was sure of. She was true to him as he to her and they loved each other. That was what was important. Marinette was his rock, his shoulder to cry on and her parents were the kindest people he had ever met, oh and they made the best Canelés in the world. 

Sabine and Tom had become surrogate parents to him. They did everything he dreamed a father and mother would do for a child for him, they did what his father and mother used to do. 

He remembered when he was young he would get horrible nightmares. Now he couldn’t remember what on earth they were about, but they had been bad. He would run to his parent's bedroom if they hadn’t come already and snuggle in with them. His father would wrap a strong arm around him and Emilie and he would not have nightmares, he would dream.   
^^^^^^^^^^  
As though a thin layer of ice had encased him, he felt as though he couldn't move. An icy chill had come over him and his muscles wouldn’t respond, as much as he screamed at them to do so. The darkness was thick. It moved in unfathomable ways, like a creature with no face, no body, just mass. It was like a curtain and a brick wall at the same time. Intangible and tangible. So he floated there in the darkness.

A light hovered in front of him. Hope glistened in his eyes and he reached out to touch it, but it was too far. Just too far, so he fell.

Adrien screamed, his sheets wrapped around him like an anaconda, strangling him. He couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t think. Ripping himself out of the grasp of the bedsheets he stumbled down the hallway towards the only safe place he knew. Pushing the doors open with some struggle he collapsed into the room. 

Gabriel sat up ramrod straight. Alert and ready, but when he saw his 4-year-old son, in tears, collapsed on the ground his posture softened. He moved to get up out of bed and pick his son up, but Adrien was too fast. Quickly collecting himself, the younger Agreste shot into bed, wedging himself between his parents. Gabriel could only smile, despite the tears that streaked his son's face.

This wasn't a surprise. Adrien had been having many bad dreams lately and he would always come running to them for comfort. 

Settling back into bed Gabriel ran his thumb across Adrien's wet cheeks, brushing his tears away. Adrien curled into his chest, softly sobbing and wetting Gabriel’s nightshirt. Gabriel hugged Adrien closer, wrapping his arm around both Emilie and his son.  
^^^^^^^^^^  
Adrien smiled at the memory. His father had been, well, fatherly. It had been nice to have someone to comfort him. It had been nice to have a father. 

Nonsense. His father loved him, he reminded himself. He still had a father. His father was still alive and that was more than some people could say. He was grateful, he had to be. His life, compared to so many others, was great. But sometimes it felt so unfair. He could allow himself some sympathy, right? 

“Adrien?”

“Yes, Mr. Dupain?”

“You don’t need to call me that, you know,” Tom giggled.

“Right sorry, uh, Tom?” Marinette’s father smiled and nodded. 

“Look, um, I wanted to talk to you. You know, a man to man chat? Uh, I wanted to give you space for a while, but I think you should talk, about Gabe, I mean, your father to someone.”

“Wait, Gabe?” Tom gave Adrien a sheepish look. 

“Yeah, your father and I knew each other in school! Not well, but well enough. Everyone used to call him Gabbie!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I might reminisce a bit and give some background to the characters. So storytime for Adrien!


	10. Chapter 10

“Gabbie?”

“Well, he wasn’t amazingly fond of it, but Emilie,” he looked slightly guilty at the mention of his mother’s name, “would use it too, so he slowly warmed up to it after a while.”

“What was he like, you know, back then?”

Tom smiled at the warm memories, “Oh he was a top student, as you would expect, teacher's pet. Not too much has changed really, he would keep to himself and, oh gosh, if you disturbed him whilst he was designing, hell would break loose!” A giggle escaped from Tom, “He only really softened when your mother was around. Gabe was Mr. Bisset’s, our textiles teacher, favourite student, he would always have something nice to say about your father’s skills with the needle.”

“Were you friends?” Adrien said his curiosity piqued.

“Not really. Acquaintances more like. Your father wasn’t popular, but he was still up there, whilst Sabine and I were the average background kids. We were in the same class together for many periods of the day, so we got to know each other, but I doubt he even remembers me.”

“Oh. I’ll make it a point to mention you then,” at this Tom blushed.

“Ha, no need.”

“Well, I’m going to have to introduce my girlfriend’s parents to him soon enough.”

It was weird to think that this man was giving him more information about his father than his father ever had.

“About your father…”

“We had an argument.”

“Ah.”

“He kinda likes Nathalie. His personal assistant?” Tom nodded, “That’s cool and all, but what about mother, right? It was all too much, I couldn’t really think straight. I didn’t want him to take her away from me. I didn’t want to lose her now that I had only just got her back. But I guess Nathalie has been my like ‘mother’ longer than my mother has, and I guess I want her back too. But it seems that I can’t have both, it’s either-or.”

Mr. Dupain just smiled, “It’s nice that you care for both of them equally, but your mother will never truly leave your side. She’ll still be there, even though she’s not necessarily in the same household.”

Adrien smiled back and tried to look relieved by what the man had said. If only he knew the truth of the situation, but if he did, he wouldn’t have an answer to give Adrien. He’d have to choose one or the other, not both, never both.

“Thank you Mr. Dupain, but I think I’ve overstayed my visit. I have a father to talk to.” 

Tom nodded curtly and wrapped his strong arms around Adrien in an embrace, “See you soon Adrien.”

“I will,” and with that done he ran up the stairs to find Marinette at her door. 

She had been listening to their conversation and at the sight of Adrien, she blushed profoundly and leaned on the staircase railing trying to act calm. Her arm slipped and she waved her hands frantically in the air trying to regain her balance, but not before Adrien caught her and held her in his arms. They both started to laugh at her predicament. 

The sound of her laugh was a wondrous thing, Adrien thought. It was lovely, full of joy and happiness.

“I’ve got to go now.”

Marinette nodded, “I know.”

“I’ll be back.”

“I know that too.”

After waving goodbye to the Dupain Chengs he ran off down the street, not bothering to wait for Gorilla, who he had called on a while back. 

His legs burned intensely, but he continued running until the looming structure that he called home stood in front of him.   
^^^^^^^^^^  
Gabriel saw Adrien before Adrien had even reached the gates of the mansion. He quickly rushed to his control panel to open the gates for his son. It had only been a week. He had known that his son was perfectly safe with Tom and Sabine, his old classmates. They had called him up soon after Adrien had arrived at their bakery, but he had worried immensely all the same. 

He hoped that the time Adrien was away was enough for the boy to have decided.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I threw some young Gabe into the mix. I've always wanted to know how Gabe was like as a teen. I imagined him as a secluded kid, didn't like to mingle too much, but would socialise enough as not to be named unsocial. I think Emilie would have been a mix of Chloe and Marinette, not completely naive, but still naive enough to be that tad bit Chloe. It's kind of obvious that Gabe would have been the textiles teacher's favourite, but I think Gabe would have been an all-round teacher's pet. Trying to get high grades, not to disappoint his parents, who I think would have been very strict. I think that Gabriel would have been much like he is today, kind of cruel, kinda cold, but not as much as he is now.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “How was your week Father?”
> 
> “Fine, thank you for asking. Yours?”
> 
> “Oh, it was great. Sabine makes the best Mille-feuille ever! You should try it one day!”
> 
> “You don’t say?”

“How’s Mother?”

That’s how the conversation started and that’s how the conversation would end. Gabriel avoided eye contact with his son, his expression grim and full of remorse. That was all the answer Adrien was going to get.

They sat in silence for a long while, neither spoke a word. It wasn’t an awkward silence by any means, but the air was still heavy with an unpleasant weight. Both trying to come up with words in their heads, but not voicing the silent conversation they had created. 

“How was your week Father?”

“Fine, thank you for asking. Yours?”

“Oh, it was great. Sabine makes the best Mille-feuille ever! You should try it one day!”

“You don’t say?”

But those words were never spoken, they just hung artificially in the silence, waiting to be said from mouths that would refuse to say them. 

Gabriel was the first to leave, nodding curtly at Adrien before excusing himself. The sound of Gabriel’s chair pushing away from the dining table the only sound that penetrated the thick smog of silence. Adrien sat and stared at his fathers back as he fled the room.

It amused him, the thought that after a week stuck in this house full of shame and misery it hadn’t changed the man he called Father one bit. Gabriel was still cold and continued to push Adrien away, not realising how he was hurting his own son. 

“Damn you.” Adrien cursed, getting up from his sitting position and removing himself from the room, making it a point to swing the door shut hard. The sound rang through the awkwardly empty house as if he had shouted at the Great Canyon. 

^^^^^^^^^^

He was utterly shit at this. Utterly shit. How the hell do you ‘father’? 

He used to be great at it. Adrien would laugh when he told some stupid joke, he would run to him with a drawing and be ever so excited to show him his work. Now they hardly knew each other.

His lovely son. He would put his head on the block for him, he would die ten times over for Adrien. What was the use of dying for him if he couldn’t even make his life with him worth it? 

Nathalie would have known what to do. She would have told him the exact words, what to say, how to say them. Now he was alone. He had to show Adrien that he could be the father that he always wanted. 

He needed Nathalie. He still had the miraculous. He could return everything to what it once was. Everything would be better. But how would he go about it? The thing with those ‘genie wishy things’ was that the wish always had a consequence or else they wouldn’t go the way you wanted. If he wished for everything to return to normal, what if it took him back in time? If everything that happened after the wish just ceased to exist. What the hell would he do then? He had so many questions, none of which granted any answers. He just wished that Adrien would forgive him and decide.

He clambered up the stairs and literally fell into his bed. Exhaustion devouring any energy he had left. Curling himself up inside the covers of his silk bedsheet he quickly gave way to sleep. It wasn’t until he felt another body squashed up next to him that he finally broke free of his slumber. He checked the clock, 1:46. Adrien had found his way into Gabriel’s bed whilst he had been asleep and had made himself comfortable. Adrien’s fluffy hair tickled his chin and he brushed it down with his hand. He smiled. The sight of his son snoring peacefully, tucked up next to him was beautiful. It reminded Gabriel of the times Adrien would get nightmares and come running to him for shelter. He had been a great father then. Now? He didn’t really know what kind of father he was now. A shit one, he was sure.

He sunk back into the mattress. Adrien rolled over and landed right on top of him, causing him to grunt loudly, stirring Adrien. But his son didn’t wake up, he only wrapped his arms around Gabriel as if he was a teddy bear. Adrien buried his head in Gabriel’s chest and went back into a deep sleep. With a sigh, Gabriel put his arms around his son and fell asleep.

“Father?” Adrien said groggily. He was holding his father tightly, as though they fell asleep in the middle of a hug. Gabriel stirred, looking at Adrien through squinted eyes. 

“I think you crawled your way into my bed,” Gabriel replied, slightly amused at his son’s confused countenance. 

It all came back to him. He had had a nightmare about Nathalie and his father. 

Adrien had been holding a gun and he started shooting them both. He didn’t want to. He was screaming at himself to stop, but his hands continued firing until Gabriel and Nathalie were both riddled with bullet holes. Blood poured out of their wounds slowly flooding the room they were in. Staining the white walls that surrounded them in a crimson red. He was drowning in their blood. He woke up gasping for air. He ran to his father's room to find him sleeping peacefully. Not wanting to return to his own room Adrien had snuggled up next to him, grateful for the body warmth.

To Gabriel’s surprise, Adrien hugged him, so tightly that it seemed that if Adrien left him he might disappear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to put some cute Adrien and Gabriel moments. I thought I might play on the idea that Adrien used to run to Gabe if he had a nightmare.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I miss her too,” Again Gabriel was taken by surprise at his son’s words. 
> 
> “You do?”

Adrien lay horizontally on the bed with his head on Gabriel’s chest, typing away at his phone. Gabriel was absent-mindedly stroking his son’s hair without a care in the world. 

Yes, Adrien thought. This is how a father and son relationship should be. His father seemed at ease, relaxed and that was saying a lot for the fashion mogul. He liked it this way. They hadn’t said a word in a while, but it was a comfortable silence unlike the day before. It was nice to just sit there and just let the moment wash over you. There didn’t need to be a conversation because no words needed to be said, the silence spoke for itself. 

For once in his life, Gabriel wasn’t thinking about work, he wasn’t thinking about Hawkmoth, he was thinking about Adrien.

Of course, it helped that it was the weekend.

Adrien looked up at his father's tranquil face. He couldn’t completely believe, now, that this man was the Hawkmoth that he had fought every day for the past two years. The cold-hearted man that he had been so scared of. The man that he didn’t want to disappoint, the man he wanted to please. Now, Gabriel Agreste looked like the father he had always wanted. A father that he was, somewhat, proud of. A father that he loved.

“I love you, dad,” Gabriel’s eyebrows shot up slightly in surprise of the casual ‘dad’ that Adrien had used to address him, but he quickly shrugged it off and smiled back at his son.

“I love you too Adrien.”

Nathalie would have been proud of him at this moment. Of the man he had become. 

Nathalie.

“I miss her,” Gabriel whispered to himself.

He missed her so much. He just wanted her back. He wanted to hold her and tell her that he loved her. But she wasn’t here, she couldn’t be here. 

Adrien looked up at Gabriel, assessing his father who was now deep in thought. His brow was creased in frustration and grief. His father really loved Nathalie. For two years his father never noticed his love for her until it was too late. He just took her for granted and ignored her. He was too blind by an empty love to see a real one. Gabriel had done the wrong thing for the right reasons. He wanted his wife back. He wanted to mend the hole in his family, but in doing so he had made the hole bigger.   
In some sense, Adrien admired his father. Gabriel could have control of the world, he could have riches galore, he could have anything he wanted with the wish, but he chose his family over greed. He chose love over indulgence. 

“I miss her too,” Again Gabriel was taken by surprise at his son’s words. 

“You do?”

“Of course I do! Nathalie has been with us for so long. She’s been like a mother to me. And for longer than my own mother.” 

Gabriel thought about this. It was true. Nathalie had taken care of both Adrien and himself. She had cared for Adrien as though he was her own son. 

“I want her back Father. I love her too. She’s amazing.”

“She is, isn’t she?”

Adrien nodded his head, “I think I’ve made my mind up.” 

Gabriel looked straight at his son, “You’re sure?”

“Nathalie was more a mother to me than Mother ever was, so yes, I want her back.”

Gabriel nodded and pushed himself up into a sitting position. He leaned over to his bedside table and opened one of the drawers. A small safe was tucked into the draw. The design was not much different from the safe behind Emilie’s picture. Entering the code the safe popped open revealing its contents. Chat Noir’s ring and Ladybug’s earrings were tucked safely inside, both sitting on the silk lining quite pleasantly. Taking both out of the safe he lifted them up to show Adrien. His face was grim and he sat tensely before Gabriel, but still nodded. 

“I need to show you something.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit short, but I think that I want to keep the next event separate.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You little shit,” both of the Agreste’s looked at the creature in surprise.

“Nathalie!” Adrien rushed over to the glass coffin in which his father’s assistant lay, “Oh God, oh God, Nathalie!” 

His son’s reaction was heartbreaking. Adrien had run, full speed, towards Nathalie. He expressed so much concern for the woman, his heart clenched.

“Adrien,” Gabriel placed a hand on the young model’s shoulder. Adrien shrugged him off. How could his father do this? 

“What have you done?” 

Gabriel swallowed hard, “We can reverse the effects.”

“And then what? What else will happen? What will be the consequence?”

He took a deep inhale of breath, “I hope that the consequence won’t hurt any of you.”

Adrien frowned and nodded at his father, “Fine. I just hope you know what you are doing.” 

Taking the miraculous out of his pocket he smiled at Adrien, “Trust me.”

Tikki and Plagg zoomed out of the pieces of jewellery. He didn’t think he would have to repeat this procedure, but that was the old Gabriel Agreste, now he had to. 

“Adrien!” the little black kwami zapped over to Adrien, caressing his cheek. Adrien returned the favour and his trademark beam returned to his face.

“How are you Plagg! I missed you.”

“Oh, I’m just cheesy! By the way, do you have any… I don’t know Roquefort? I’ve taken quite a liking for your cheese here in la maison de la tour Eiffel.”

Adrien chuckled, “Yes I’m sure Father can arrange that.”

With that, the kwami snapped around and glared at Gabriel who smiled sheepishly back.

“You,” Plagg said in an accusatory tone. 

“Hi,” Gabriel replied.

“You little shit,” both of the Agreste’s looked at the creature in surprise. 

“Plagg,” Adrien scolded through his teeth. He silently agreed that his father deserved that scolding. Gabriel just took the offence head-on and nodded. 

“Nice to meet you too.”

“Do you know what he did?” the tiny god turned to Adrien, his cool demeanour all but gone, “He hurt my Sugarcube!” dramatically Plagg embraced Tikki, who tried to squirm out of his grasp to no avail. 

“I didn’t mean-”

“Oh, don’t make excuses! What evil are you going to do now? Hmm?”

“Plagg,” Adrien coaxed.

“Are you in on this Adrien?” The boy nodded in remorse, “Gah!”

For the first time since she came out of the earrings, Tikki spoke, “Hear him out Plagg,” seeing her partners scowl she said, “Please! For meee!”

“Ah, alright, alright Sugarcube. What’s up old man?”

“I need to get my assistant back, I need to save her.”

Plagg turned to see the glass coffin, where he knew the assistant in question was laying in, “Right, so you’re making more zombies? No? Well, it would have been more diabolical than your soppy shit about love and all.”

“How do we get her back Plagg,” Adrien queried.

“Oh, your father knows the drill. See. Doesn’t he look ridiculous.” 

Adrien caught sight of his father with red polka dot earrings on and couldn’t help but laugh. It was the most eccentric thing the older man would ever wear, he was sure. 

“Very stylish Father,” He quipped.

“Yes, yes. Plagg claws out! Tikki spots on!” just like the first time Gabriel’s banal beige suit changed into sleek black spandex, then a red mask with a black-spotted red tie. Adrien had but a moment to admire his father’s transformation before a flash of white light blinded him. Now his father stood before him in a half black and half white suit, looking as stylish as ever. 

Power surged through Gabriel’s veins. It felt amazing. It burned and felt like his blood was made of white-hot molten lava, but it was amazing. He only felt so strong once before and that was in the same place, different circumstances. 

Gabriel laughed maliciously, “I should use this for a design,” he sneered, admiring his suit. Quickly regaining his composure Gabriel got back to the situation at hand, “I wish for everything to return to the way it was just before I brought my wife back,” he tried to be as accurate as possible in his wish, hoping that nothing would go wrong. 

Another flash and everything was white.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I'm going to leave you to come up with ways this could go wrong yourselves and I'll see you in the next part of this series: Back to Square One
> 
> I think you can guess what it's going to be about just from that title.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Please leave kudos and a comment, I love hearing from you guys!


End file.
